Hygge - Denmark - A show of Happiness

Superkilen Park, København, Denmark

The ultimate urban playground for kids. Superkilen was designed by superstar architects Bjarke Ingels Group and arts group Superflex and opened in 2012. It celebrates the diverse nature of Nørrebro through design and artefacts from around the world. The park is divided into three main areas: Den Røde Plads (red square), Mimers Plads (black square) and The Green Market. Each plays its own role in creating a diverse playground for locals.

Photo by Sam Poullain on Unsplash

 

Denmark has been ranked as one of the happiest countries among the 155 countries surveyed, for the seventh consecutive year!

Evaluation of Happiness

Scientists generally argue about how to measure things, But when it comes to happiness (or 'subjective well-being' as they call it) a general consensus seems to have emerged. Depending on the scope and purpose of the research, happiness is often measured using objective indicators (data on crime, income, civic engagement and health) and subjective methods like asking people how frequently they experience positive and negative emotions.

Why do Danes evaluate their lives more positively ?

Yes, Danes have a stable government, low levels of public corruption and access to high-quality education and healthcare. The country does have highest taxes in the world, but the vast majority of Danes happily pay. They believe higher taxes can create a better society.

Hygge

Most importantly, however, they a cultural construct called hygge (pronounced 'hue-guh' with a hue as the first syllable).
The Oxford Dictionary added the word in June 2017 and it refers to high quality social interactions. Hygge can be used as a noun, adjective or verb. Events and place can also be hyggelise (hygge-like).

Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash

Hygge can be translated as 'intentional intimacy', which can happen when we have safe, balanced and harmonious shared experiences. Instances that quality could include a cup or coffee with a friend, or a summer picnic on the park. A family might have a hygge evening that entails board games and treats or friends might get together for a causal dinner with good food and gossip. Spaces can also be described as hyggelige ( a new house is hyggeligt), A common wat of thanking a host after a dinner is to say that it was huggeligt ( meaning we had a good time).

The Basics

Research on hygge has found that in Denmark, it's integral to people's sense of well-being. It acts as a buffer against stress, while also creating a space to build camaraderie. In a highly individualized country like Denmark, hygge can promote egalitarianism and strengthen trust.

Hygge is fully integrated into the Danish cultural psyche. But it has also become a global phenomenon - Amazon now sells more than 900 books monthly on hygge and Instagram has over 3 millions posts with hashtag #huggie. Google trends data show a big jump in searches for hygge beginning in October 2016.

Many European cultures have a word for a concept similar to hygge - Norwegians have koselig, the Swedish mysig, the Dutch gezenlligheid and the German gemutlichjeit.

Social Factors in Happiness

The importance of social factors in happiness is emphasized in the happiness bulge in the data collected from Latin America. Happiness in this region is found to depend on the greater warmth of family and other social relationships and on the greater importance that people attach to these relationships.

In contrast, do India have any real cultural equivalent of hygge, especially in recent times, consequent with nuclearisation of family and urbanization of population? Progressively India have come to associate income with happiness. Yet even though the country's GDP has been rising, levels of happiness in India have been steadily decreasing. Same like situations are being observed in China also. Population of China and India and its subcontinent put together is almost one third of worlds population.

 What could be the reason for this ?

Income inequality is major issue. People are happier living in societies where there is less inequality in means of achieving happiness. There has also been a marked decrease in trust. Interpersonal trust, as well as trust in institutions, such as the Government and the media, is getting eroded rapidly. Most importantly, we ought to realize that more disposable income does not compare to having someone to rely on in a time of need.
Isn't it interesting to note that 95% of Danes believe they have someone to rely on in trying times ?

Final Thought

At the core, hygge is about building intimacy and trust with others. If the Danes can achieve such marvelous psychological benefit from a temporal interpersonal relationship. imagine the life-outcomes from establishing a pure, personal relationship with a spiritual being. This makes a strong case for urgently conveying to one and all, all over the world, the promise of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi 

"Know that you have at least a Mother, if none else"

Against the bulwark of this relationship, we could raise a social superstructure better than any that history has ever seen.